MP Govt Asks Truckers To End Stir; Bhopal Admin Warns Of NSA If Operation Of Buses Disrupted

The Madhya Pradesh government on Tuesday appealed to truckers and other drivers to call off their stir even as authorities in Bhopal warned of invoking the National Security Act (NSA) if the operation of buses and vehicles is disrupted.

MP Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Rajesh Rajora held a meeting with various outfits of truckers and school buses and appealed to them to withdraw their agitation.

The meeting was held in accordance with the instructions given by the Madhya Pradesh High Court, an official said.

These representatives were informed that there is no provision of the penalty of Rs 7 lakh or Rs 10 lakh under 106 (2) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita and the people are being misled on this issue, an official release said.

There is a provision of maximum 10-year imprisonment under the new law and minimum punishment is not defined, Rajora said.

"These provisions are only meant for those who flee from the spot without informing police or magistrate and such cases are subjected to a judicial process in the court," the release said.

In the meeting, Rajora and other officials appealed to transporters' unions to call off the strike and cooperate to restore services.

A meeting was also organised under Bhopal's divisional commissioner Pawan Sharma.

In the meeting, operators of city buses and school buses in Bhopal were told to operate vehicles from Wednesday. They were told that police and local administration would cooperate with them.

However, if anyone obstructs the operation of school buses or city buses, action will be taken under NSA, a release quoted Sharma as saying.

"If these instructions are not followed, action will be taken against the concerned operator and the driver's licence will be cancelled," it stated.